Thread: MN: IA bus driver arrested in Minnesota school tragedy

Illegal alien bus driver arrested in Minnesota school tragedy
By Michelle Malkin • February 21, 2008 06:25 PM

1alia.jpg

The local Fox affiliate in the Twin Cities finally confirms what the local papers didn’t seem to want to mention about the horrible school bus accident that killed four children. It didn’t have to happen:
[quote]
Authorities have confirmed that the the driver of the van that struck the school bus that killed 4 students on Tuesday is an illegal alien.

Officials at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement are checking to see where she came from and how long she’s been in Minnesota. FOX 9 has also learned that the name she gave to police, Alainiss Morales, is an alias.

23-year-old Alainiss N. Morales was taken into custody on suspicion of criminal vehicular operation. She was arrested by the State Patrol Thursday afternoon and is being held in Lyon County Jail. County Attorney Rick Maes told the Marshall Independent charges could come later Thursday or Friday…The van was driven by Alianiss N. Morales, 23, of Minneota. The Fox 9 Investigator found Morales pleaded guilty in Chippewa County in 2006 to driving without a valid license.

State Patrol officials said Thursday they were not immediately able to confirm if Morales was unlicensed, nor could they confirm whether Morales ran a stop sign. Lt. Mark Peterson said that was still under investigation, but that the investigation was “moving forward very quickly.â€

Cottonwood and Marshall are in SW MN - here's a mapquest rendition:

http://tinyurl.com/2o47ac

I posted this one yesterday due to a local news report that I'd heard but at that time it couldn't be confirmed.

It was a sad day in this part of the country! My post yesterday was pulled but it was not pulled on the speculation due to the name. I just could not verify it.

There are a lot of sources out there but I think the MN forces were getting inundated with inquiries in leiu of the 2006/2007 turkey plant & meat plant raids in MN.

Sorry I couldn't give the specifics last night. Coming through the local news affiliate, the statement of those interviewed COULD NOT BE IGNORED!

This one makes me SO angry because we'll probably find that she's already received a deportation order or was evading the law.

Story after story of IA's killing Americans, yet our gov't would have us believe we don't have a problem with illegals? Maybe I have tunnel vision and tend to only look for the IA angle whenever I watch the news, but to me it sure seems like illegals are responsible for most of these "accidents". Has anyone else noticed how the msm tries to dodge the status of the suspect in these stories? It's to the point that many times a reporter will give a description as vague as "The suspect is described as a man in his late twenties with a medium build."

It is truly sad that America has been betrayed by those sworn to protect her. Those riots we're watching Belgrate are a mirror of what we can expect once more states attempt to declare their independence. Believe me, it's coming...

safari: Yes, I did know about that. I posted this as it had the most current and confirmed status of the perp. I can re-post the one posted yesterday if you like. I just thought this one was the most current so I went with it.

That's ok Phred, I'm just glad the truth came to the surface finally in writing.

It's been a long 2 days for these families and it's even going to be a more enduring period of time for them.

All we can do at this point is PRAY!

Pray for the victims,
Pray for the families,
Pray for speedy recoveries for those still alive,
Pray that JUSTICE BE DONE!!!

It's time to enforce our laws!!!

safari - ah, ok. Thanks.

I agree, just another needless tragedy. And Michelle's questions are quite appropriate as well. I think someone, somewhere needs to answer those - the families affected deserve [should DEMAND] it.

Van driver arrested in school bus crash

The Minnesota State Patrol has made a probable cause arrest in the Lakeview School Bus accident, Lyon County Sheriff Joel Dahl said Thursday afternoon

Alianiss Nunez Morales, a 23-year-old Minneota woman, has been booked into the Lyon County Jail on the charge of criminal vehicular operation, Dahl said in a news release.

Formal charges are pending with the Lyon County Attorney and no court date has been set at this time, Dahl said.

"I've been reviewing the State Patrol reports for possible charges of criminal vehicular operation and lesser violations," Lyon County Attorney Rick Maes said.

Maes was uncertain if Morales could be charged yet today, but if not, he expected that charges could be filed Friday.


http://www.marshallindependent.com/News ... leID=19476

The 4 kids killed in the accident:

(from Marshall Independent newspaper site):

In crash aftermath, van driver’s license status questioned

By Rae Kruger
Photos courtesy Laurie Gregoire

COTTONWOOD — The Minnesota State Patrol released the names of the students who died in Tuesday’s school bus crash south of Cottonwood, but questions about the crash remain including those about the driver of the van involved in the crash.

Brothers Jesse Javens, 13, and Hunter Javens, 9, of Cottonwood, Emilee Olson, 9, of Cottonwood and Reed Stevens, 12, of Marshall died in the crash that injured 15 people.

The school bus driven by Dennis Devereaux, 52, of Cottonwood with 28 children was traveling south on Highway 23 when it was struck by a van driven by Alianiss N. Morales, 23, of Minneota traveling east on Lyon County Road 24, the State Patrol said.

The bus tipped on its side and landed on a pickup driven by James M. Hancock, 45, of Marshall.

A search of a court Web site by the Independent and similar search and driver’s license information search by KSTP television in the Twin Cities show that Morales may not have a valid Minnesota driver’s license.

Morales was convicted of driving without a license in Chippewa County Court in 2006, according to a document obtained through the state court system Web site.

Chippewa County Attorney Dwayne Knutsen reviewed the information on the Web site Wednesday afternoon and said based on that and the charge, it’s unlikely Morales had a valid driver’s license or she had not renewed her license. Knutsen said if Morales had at some time had a valid Minnesota driver’s license prior to the misdemeanor citation, the charge would likely have been driving with a revoked license instead.

KSTP reported Wednesday evening that a search it did of state license information indicated Morales did not have a Minnesota driver’s license when the crash happened.

Minnesota State Patrol officials said they could not confirm Wednesday if Morales did not have a valid driver’s license.

The driver’s license question is one of several questions residents of Wood Lake and Cottonwood in the Lakeview District have had the past two days. Residents wonder why and how the crash happened at intersection that includes a stop sign on Lyon County Road 24.

State Patrol spokesman Lt. Mark Peterson and Lt. Brian West of the Marshall office said at a Wednesday news conference they may not be able to answer all the questions until the investigation is completed.

Photos taken at the scene show the rear axle and wheels dislodged from the bus.

Peterson and West said they could not confirm if the collision with the van dislodged the bus wheels or say how fast the van may have been traveling.

“We have yet been able to determine where the van was coming from and where it was going,â€